Resolution of the black hole information paradox

In summary: In summation, according to quantum theory, information cannot disappear from the universe, but the physicists Kip Thorne, John Preskill and Stephen Hawking have a standing bet: what would happen if you dropped a copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica down a black hole? It does not matter whether there are other identical copies elsewhere in the cosmos. As defined in physics, information is not the same as meaning, but simply refers to the binary digits, or some other code, used to precisely describe an abject or pattern. So it seems that the information in those particular books would be swallowed up and gone forever. And that is supposed to be impossible. Dr. Hawking and Dr. Thorne believe the information would indeed disappear and
  • #1
physicslover2
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What is the resolution of the black hole information paradox?
According to quantum theory, information — whether it describes the velocity of a particle or the precise manner in which ink marks or pixels are arranged on a document — cannot disappear from the universe. But the physicists Kip Thorne, John Preskill and Stephen Hawking have a standing bet: what would happen if you dropped a copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica down a black hole? It does not matter whether there are other identical copies elsewhere in the cosmos. As defined in physics, information is not the same as meaning, but simply refers to the binary digits, or some other code, used to precisely describe an abject or pattern. So it seems that the information in those particular books would be swallowed up and gone forever. And that is supposed to be impossible. Dr. Hawking and Dr. Thorne believe the information would indeed disappear and that quantum mechanics will just have to deal with it. Dr. Preskill speculates that the information doesn’t really vanish: it may be displayed somehow on the surface of the black hole, as on a cosmic movie screen...
what do u people have to say about this ...?
i want to see ur views..
 
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  • #2
I believe Hawking conceded the bet.

from wikipedia:

In 2004, Hawking announced that he was conceding the bet, and that he now believed that black hole horizons should fluctuate and leak information, in doing so he provided Preskill a copy of an encyclopedia on baseball. Hawking later stated, "I gave John an encyclopedia of baseball, but maybe I should just have given him the ashes." Kip Thorne declined to concede the bet at that time. As of 2008[update], Hawking's argument that he has solved the paradox has not yet been accepted by the community, and a consensus has not yet been reached that Hawking has provided a strong enough argument that this is in fact what happens.


Essentially I see it this way. Classical general relativity does not concern it's selves with the microscopic degrees of freedom of the gravitational field in the same way as thermodynamics is ignorant of the microscopic degrees of freedom. We know now that the thermodynamics of a gas is a statistical effect due to coarse graining the large number of microscopic degrees of freedom. We should take the same attitude with black hole thermodynamics so when we have the correct theory of quantum gravity we will understand that information is not lost.
 
  • #3

1. What is the black hole information paradox?

The black hole information paradox is a problem in theoretical physics that arises when considering the fate of information that falls into a black hole. According to classical physics and general relativity, all information about an object entering a black hole is lost forever. However, according to quantum mechanics, information cannot be destroyed. This contradiction is known as the black hole information paradox.

2. How can the black hole information paradox be resolved?

There are several proposed solutions to the black hole information paradox, including the holographic principle, black hole complementarity, and the firewall hypothesis. These theories suggest that information is either encoded on the event horizon of the black hole or released back into the universe through quantum processes.

3. What is the holographic principle?

The holographic principle is a concept in physics that suggests that all the information about a volume of space can be represented on a lower-dimensional surface surrounding that space. In the context of the black hole information paradox, this principle suggests that the information about objects entering a black hole is encoded on the event horizon, which acts as a two-dimensional surface.

4. How does black hole complementarity resolve the paradox?

Black hole complementarity is a theory proposed by Leonard Susskind that suggests that different observers can have different perceptions of the same event. In the context of the black hole information paradox, this means that an outside observer may see information being lost in a black hole, while an observer falling into the black hole would see the information being preserved on the event horizon.

5. What is the firewall hypothesis?

The firewall hypothesis is a theory that suggests that the event horizon of a black hole is not a smooth surface but rather a violent region of high-energy particles, or a "firewall." This theory proposes that information entering a black hole is destroyed at the firewall, resolving the paradox by allowing for the destruction of information while still adhering to the principles of quantum mechanics.

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